Automatic umbrella



P 1970 SATUKI KITANI 3,508,560

AUTOMATI C UMBRELLA Filed Feb. 5, 1969 United States Patent O US. Cl. 13520 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In an automatic umbrella comprising a top hub member pivotally supporting ribs and a second hub member secured to the umbrella stick for pivotally supporting foldable stays, an intermediate slidable hub member operably connected to a manipulating member at the lower end of the stick is mounted on the stick between top and second hub members and tension springs are provided between the intermediate hub member and the foldable stays. A compression spring is provided between the intermediate hub member and the second hub member to assist tension springs. An auxiliary hub member also operable by the manipulating member is provided beneath the second hub member and auxiliary stays pivotally,interconnect the auxiliary hub member and foldable stays.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an automatic umbrella. In the automatic umbrella it is desirable to open and close the umbrella by manipulating a manipulating member provided at the lower end of the umbrella stick. It is also desirable to lock the umbrella in the closed state as well as in the opened state. However provision of some locking means complicates the construction of the umbrella. Since the automatic umbrella has been developed for the purpose of enabling the user to open and close the umbrella by a single hand, provision of such locking means requires use of both hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved automatic umbrella which can be opened and closed by a single hand.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel automatic umbrella which can be positively locked in the open and closed states without utilizing any locking means.

According to a broad aspect of this invention a top hub member is secured to the top of the umbrella stick to pivotally support a plurality of ribs, a second hub member-is secured to the stick at a position spaced apart from the top hub member to pivotally support a plurality of foldable stays and an intermediate hub member operably connected to a manipulating member at the lower end of the stick is slidably mounted thereon between the top hub member and the second hub member. Each one of the foldable stays comprises pivotally interconnected inner sections which is pivotally connected to the second hub member and an outer section pivotally connected to the" rib and tension springs are provided between the interrnediate hub member and outer stay sections. A compression spring is interposed between the intermediate hub member and the second stationary hub member to assist tension springs.

An auxiliary hub member also operable by the manipulating member is slidably mounted on the stick beneath the second hub member and a plurality of auxiliary stays are pivotally connected between the auxiliary hub member and respective inner stay sections. Tension springs 3,508,560 Patented Apr. 28, 1970 function not only to open and close the umbrella but also to positively hold it in the closed state as well as in the opened state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view, partly in section, of essential elements of a novel umbrella in opened state; and

FIG. 2 shows a side view, partly in section, of the same essential elements of the umbrella as in FIG. 1 but in closed state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the accompanying drawing, a top hub member 2 is secured to the top of an umbrella stick 1 and an-intermediate hub member 3 is secured to the stick 1 at an intermediate point spaced from the top hub member 2. Between these hub members 2 and 3 is mounted an intermediate sliding hub member 4. An auxiliary sliding hub member 5 is mounted on the stick 1 beneath the intermediate hub member 3.

A plurality of main ribs 6 are pivotally connected to the top hub member 2 as at pivot points a. Similarly, main foldable stays 7 are pivotally connected to the intermediate hub member 3 as at pivot points b, and auxiliary stays 8 are pivotally connected to the auxiliary hub member 5 as at pivotal points c. Each of the foldable stays 7 comprises two sections 7 and 7 pivotally interconnected at a. Outer end of each auxiliary stay 8 is pivotally connected to an intermediate point e of the section 7 while the outer end of each section 7" is pivotally connected to main rib 6 at 7'. Although in the embodi ment illustrated, the main ribs 6 are not foldable it is to be understood that they may comprise two sections as in conventional foldable umbrellas.

Each one of the many stays 7 is constructed such that when the umbrella is closed outer section 7" is folded back on the outer side of the inner section 7 as shown in FIG. 2 and that when the umbrella is opened sections 7' and 7" come to align, as shown in FIG. 1. Clockwise rotation of the section 7" beyond the aligned position shown in FIGURE 1 is prevented by the abutment of the base portion 9 of the section 7" against the lower side of the section 7. An intermediate point g of each outer section 7" is connected to the sliding hub member 4 at a point It through a tension spring 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the intermediate hub member 4 is connected to an operating lever 11 housed in hollow stick 1 by means of a connected pin 12 which is slidably received in a longitudinal guide slot 13 provided through the wall of stick 1. Spaced apart pins 14 and 14 are also secured to the operating lever 11, the pin 14' being connected to a push down ring 15 mounted on the stick 1 between the intermediate hub member 3 and the auxiliary hub member 5 while the latter pin 14 being connected to a push up ring 15 mounted on the stick beneath the auxiliary hub member 5 which supports auxiliary stays 8. Pins 14 and 14 are disposed to be slidable in longitudinal guide grooves 16 and 16, respectively, provided through the wall of the stick 1. When the operating lever 11 is connected to the sliding hub member 4, push down ring 15 and push up ring 15 may be omitted. Alternatively where these rings are provided the operating lever 11 is not necessarily connected to the intermediate hub member 4. Where rings 15 and 15' are omitted the operating lever 11 may be connected to the auxiliary hub member 5. In accordance with this invention a compression spring 17 is interposed between hub members 3 and 4 to urge upwardly the sliding hub member 4 or to assist the opening action of tension springs.

A crank lever 18 is connected to the lower end of the operating lever 11 at i, The outer end of crank lever 18 is secured to the center of a manipulating lever 19 which is pivotally connected to a support 20 at a point 1'. The support 20 is secured to a sleeve mounted on the lower end of the stick 1. When the manipulating lever 19 is rotated in the clockwise direction as shown by an arrow A, FIG. 1, the operating lever 11 will be pushed up whereas when the manipulating lever 19 is rotated in the counter clockwise direction as shown by an arrow B, FIG. 2, the operating lever 11 will be pulled down. In the illustrated embodiment, upward movement of the operating lever 11 from the position shown in FIG. 2 causes upward movement of the sliding hub member 4 to apply tension to springs 10 thus causing inner sections 7 of the foldable stays 7 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction until finally inner sections 7 come to align with outer sections 7" as shown in FIG. 1. As a result, main ribs 6 are also rotated in the counterclockwise direction so as to open the umbrella. During the above described opening operation the spring 17 which has been maintained in the compressed state as shown in FIG. 2 operates to assist the upward movement of the sliding hub member 4 caused by the manipulating lever 19. At the same time, the push up ring 15 is also moved upwardly by the operating lever 11 to push upwardly the auxiliary hub member to assist the counterclockwise rotation of main stays 7 through auxiliary stays 8. Under the opened condition, it the springs 10 and 17 are designed such that the push up force applied to the sliding hub member 4 by spring 17 is 'stronger than the pull down force applied to the same hub member by the springs 10, the umbrella can be maintained in the opened state wtihout providing some means eifective to lock the manipulating lever in the operated position shown in FIG. 1. Thus, it will be understood that the vertical movement can be transmitted to either hub member 4 alone or both hub members 4 and 5 or hub member 5 alone. In the latter case, hub member 4 is disconnected from the operating lever 11 but the spring 17 is eifective to push up the hub member 4 when the manipulating lever 19 is rotated in the clockwise direction, thus opening the umbrella.

When the manipulating lever 19 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2, the operating lever 11 and the hub member 4 are pulled down to compress spring 17. (It is advantageous to proportion various elements such that when the umbrella is opened the distance between pivotal points a and b is more than twice the distance between points a and g whereas when the umbrella is closed the hub member 4 is pulled down to such extent that the distance between points d and g becomes smaller than twice the distance between points a and b.) Finally, the direction of force applied to stays 7 by tension springs 10 reverses to rotate stays 7 in the clockwise direction thus beginning to close the umbrella. At this stage the push down ring is also pulled down by the operating lever 11 to force downwardly the auxiliary hub member 5 whereby the closing operation is assisted. Under the closed condition tension springs 10 sufficiently pull down the sliding hub member 4 to compress spring 17. For this reason, without providing any locking means the umbrella can be positively maintained in the closed state. As above described even when the illustrated embodiment is modified to pull down only the auxiliary hub member 5 by the operating lever 11, closure of the umbrella can also be ensured.

In this manner, this invention provides an automatic umbrella wherein each foldable stay 7 is comprised by a main or inner stay section 7' and an outer stay section 7", sections 7' and 7" are pivotally interconnected such that they can rotate relatively from aligned or straight position to a folded back position in which the outer section 7" lies along the outside of the inner section, an intermediate hub member 4 is slidably mounted on the umbrella stick 1 between a top hub member 2 which supports ribs 6 and a second hub member 3 secured to the stick 1 to support stays 7, outer sections are pivotally connected to respective ribs 6, tension springs 10 are provided between the intermediate hub member 4 and respective outer sections 7", a manipulating lever 19 is provided at the lower end of the stick 1 to operate the intermediate hub member 4 through an operating lever contained in the stick 1 whereby the tension of tension springs IQ- is effectively utilized both for opening and closing operations. In addition, no locking means is necessary to hold the umbrella in the closed and open states.

The manipulating lever 19 is utilized to operate not only the intermediate hub member but also an auxiliary hub member 5 which supports auxiliary stays 8. Compression spring 17 interposed between movable hub member 4 and stationary hub member 3 cooperates with tension springs 10 so that the force required for manipulating the manipulating lever at the time of opening the umbrella can be greatly reduced.

While the invention has been shown and described in terms of a preferred embodiment thereof it should be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular embodiment and that many alternations and modifications may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic umbrella comprising an umbrella stick; a top hub member secured to the top of said stick to pivotally support a plurality of ribs; a second hub member secured to said stick at a point spaced from said top hub member; an intermediate hub member slidably mounted on said stick between said top and second hub members; a plurality of foldable stays, each of said stays includes an inner section pivotally connected to said second hub member and an outer section pivotally connected to one of said ribs, said inner and outer sections being interconnected such that said outer section can be rotated from aligned position to a folded back position in which outer section lies along the outside of said inner sections; tension springs connected between said intermediate hub member and said outer sections; and a manipulating member on the lower end of said stick to move said intermediate hub member.

2. The automatic umbrella according to claim 1 wherein a compression spring is interposed between said intermediate hub member and said second hub member.

3. The automatic umbrella according to claim 1 wherein an auxiliary hub member is slidably mounted on said stick beneath said second hub member, and a plurality of auxiliary stays are pivotally connected between said auxiliary hub member and said inner stay sections, said auxiliary hub member being operably connected to said manipulating member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 855,142 5/ 1907 Steininger -25 2,784,726 3/ 1957 Vlker 135-20 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,071,301 12/1959 Germany. 1,133,092 7/1962 Germany.

I. KARL BELL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 35-25 

